Hood capping container



Filed Kay 9, 1929 .12 Skeete -Sheet 1 Oct. 25, 1932. w. WRIGHT ETAL HOOD CAPPING CONTAINER Filed lay 9, 1929 .12 Sheets-Sheet 2 W 4 dam m,

HOOD CAPPING CONTAINER Filed lay 9, 1929 .12..Sheets-Sheet 3 2.9 w A a 6 r 6 5 6 3 u mull/I Oct. 25, 1932. v w L wRlGHT ET AL 1,884,952

HOOD GAPPING CONTAINER Filed May 9, 1929 12 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 25, 1932.

w.'| WRIGHT ETAL 1,334,952

noon CAPPING CONTAINER Filed May 9, 1929 12 Sheets-Sheet 6 Jwuemkws Oct. 25, 1932. w. WRIGHT ETAL 1,884,952

HOOD CAPIING CONTAINER Filed lay 9. 1929 12 SheetsSheet 7 7a 29 Ix 29.10.

, L'. LL,

O 1932- w. L. WRIGHT ETAL HOOD CAPPING CONTAINER Filed llay 9, 1929 12 ..sneets-sneet 8 gwuentozs Oct. 25, 1932. w. 1.. WRIGHT ET AL HOOD CAPPING CONTAINER Filed May 9, 1929 IZVSheetS-Sheet 9 Oct. 25, 1932. w. WRIGHT ET AL HOOD CAPPING CONTAINER Filed May 9, 1929 12 Sheets-Sheet 1O gnmntoz s 4 j (not we Oct. 25, 1932. w. L. WRIGHT ET AL 1,884,952

HOOD CAPPING CONTAINER Filed May 9, 1929 12 Sheets-Sheet 11 awake W- 05. Wk/L 0C. a. E if.

mam/w W Oct. 25, 1932. w. WRIGHT ET AL 1,884,952

HOOD CAPPING CONTAINER Filed May 9, 1929 12 Sheets-Sheet l2 MW/KLA, I

always,

Patented Oct. 25, 1932 UNITED STATES WILBUR L. WRIGHT AND I). PIERCE, OF FULTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO OSWEGO FALLS CORPORATION, OF FULTON, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK HOOD CAPIING CONTAINER Application filed May 9,

This invention involves improvements in machinery for hood capping containers; and the objects and nature of the invention will be understood by those skilled in the art in the light of the following explanations of the accompanying drawings that illustrate what we now believe to be the preferred mechanical expressions or embodiments of our invention from among other forms, constructions, combinations and arrangements within the spirit and scope of the invention.

An object of the invention is to improve apparatus for receiving, reducing to a moldable condition, applying to container heads and securing on such heads, paper-like material hood cap disks that carry or embody, at least at the securing parts of the annular skirt portions of said disks, a suitable binder that renders such parts stifi or set at atmospheric temperatures and capable of becoming softor moldable when heated to approximately binder fusing temperatures and capable of quickly setting or cooling to stiff or hard securing condition on the container heads.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus for bottles delivered at comparatively high speed in a more or less continuous succession from capping and filling machinery, with the end in View of maintaining a. multiplicity of advancing hood cap disks in a moldable condition to provide a supply of such moldable disks for rapid successive delivery to the bottle heads, and the provision of means for gathering and contracting the moldable hood cap skirts under the bottle rims and holding such contracted skirts ti htly to the bottles until set to securing con ition under said rims.

Another object of the invention is to provide bottle hood capping apparatus of an improved type wherein cold or stifi hood cap disks are successively delivered from a common supply to continuously moving means for advancing a multiplicity of such disks while subject to conditions rendering such disks soft and moldable for the purpose of during operation, maintaining an ample supply of disks in a moldable condition, for delivery as required for deposit on bottle heads for ultimate contracting and 1929. Serial No. 361,780.

clamping thereon until set to secured condition.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus for hood capping bottles with hood cap disks while in a soft condition and capable of setting on the bottle heads by cooling at atmospheric or room temperatures, wherein the cool hood cap disks are successively delivered for treatment and successive ultimate deposit on bottles continuously arriving in succession at the hood capping station only as advancing bottles are in line to meet the moldable disks, respectively, at the hood capping station, so that if there is a break in or bottle missing from the advancing line of successive bottles, there will be a corresponding break in or moldable hood cap missing from the succession or line of hood caps also correspondingly advancing toward the hood capping station.

Another object of the invention to to provide improvements in means, in bottle hood capping apparatus, for contracting and annularly and radially pressing the moldable hood cap skirts under the bottle rims and thus holding the same until set, to increase the efliciency of the secured hood caps and the holding qualities thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide various improvements in hood capping machinery, to increase the efliciency, reliability and capacity thereof and improve the product thereof.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, our invention consists in certain nove features, combinations, and arrangements as more fully and articularly set forth and specified hereina ter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof:

Fig. 1 shows in elevation apparatus constituting an embodiment of our invention, a stack of stiff or cool paper material hood cap disks being shown at the common su ply station, with bottles travelling to and rom the hood capping station, and a hood capped bottle discharged by the machine, various bottle guiding walls being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a top plan of the heatin chamber and parts carried thereby, the 18k supply station and means for feeding disks therefrom not being shown, and the bottle feed ways and conveyers being omitted.

Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of the heating chamber and parts carried thereby, a side door being open to expose certain parts within the chamber, the upper portions of certain parts below the chamber, also being shown.

Fig. 3a is a detail elevation, partially broken away, showing the initial feeder in various positions.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional elevation, the heating chamber housing not being shown, the feed mechanism for successively delivering disks from the supply to the disk rotor carrier in the heating chamber being shown in elevation, the disk magazine being partial ly broken away, a portion of said disk carrier being shown in vertical section, a portion of the means for throwing said feed mechanism into and out of operative disk feeding position being shown, the means for ejecting moldable disks from said rotor for delivery at the bottle capping station being shown.

Fig. 5 is a detail top plan of a portion of disk rotor under said feed mechanism, showing the disk chute, but the magazine and initial disk feeder.

Fig. 6 is a detail more or less dia rammatical perspective view of the bottle etector for controlling the disk feed mechanism, a portion of the bottle path being shown with two advancing bottles therein.

Fig. 7 is a central vertical section, in the plane of the main vertical shaft of the machine, certain parts not being shown.

Fig. 8 is a cross section on line 88, Flg. 1.

Fig. 9 is a detail side elevation, somewhat diagramatically illustrating the rotary annular series of bottle stools or carriers and the rotary annular series of complementary heads for receiving the bottle heads. the'housing for the heating means being indicated by dotted lines.

Fig. 10 is a detail vertical section on the line 1010, Fig. 2.

Fig. 11 is a detail side elevation, partially in vertical section, of the portion of the machine shown by Fig. 10, looking at the same from the right hand side of Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a detail horizontal section on the line 12-12, Fig. 13.

Fig. 13 is a detail vertical section on the line 13-13, Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a detail vertical section taken in the same plane as Fig. 13 but showing the bottle at its limit of upward movement with respect to the head and clamping means.

Fig. 15 is a detail top plan of a segment of the rotor for the annular series of bottle head receiving members and clamps, the capping heads, one of said heads being shown.

Fig. 16 is a vertical section on the line 16 16, Fig. 15.

Fig. 17 is a horizontal section on the line 17-17, Fig. 7, certain parts being removed and certain parts indicated by dotted lines.

Fig. 17A is a detail edge view of a portion of the rotor of Fig. 17 with parts removed therefrom.

Fig. 18 is a detail horizontal section showing the machine base and the fixed track controlling the vertical positions of the bottle stools of the annular series 'carried by its rotor, the hub of said rotor being shown in vertical section, the driving gearing therefor beingshown in top plan.

Fig. 19 shows a binder carrying paper material hood cap disk.

Fig. 20 shows the disk in edge elevation.

Fig. 21 shows in elevation the head portion of a container hood capped by the machine disclosed hereby.

Fig. 22 is a vertical section of a bottle head and hood cap contracted and clamped thereon by the clamping means shown in vertical section.

Fig. 23 is a horizontal section on the line 2323, Fig. 22. a

In the particular example illustrated, the machine is supplied with binder carrying hood cap disks, such as (1, (Figs. 19 and 20), preferably composed of sheet paper in flaring skirt form with at least the annular securing portions a, of the longitudinally fluted or creased skirts carrying the binder that renders such skirts capable of becoming SOf'l. or moldable when heated to approximately fuse the binder and capable of quickly setting at atmospheric or room temperatures to stifi or hard securing condition. However, we do not wish to limit our invention to the particular form or binder characteristics of the hood cap disks. The machine preferably receives a supply of disks in cool or set condition, usually with the disks more or less loosely nested together in reversed or upside down position to form a stack, held by and feeding downwardly by gravity in a downwardly inclined disk magazine 1. constituting the common or initial disk supply of the machine. This magazine 1, is in this instance, fixedly secured on the top of the machine, and is open and accessible so that the stack of disks can be observed and replenished as required. However, we do not wish to limit all features of our invention to arrange the disks upside down which necessitates turning over for placing on the bottle heads right side up.

The disks are removed from the magazine d scharge and delivered one at a time to the successive individual disk holders or pockets of a horizontally rotating disk carrier. the holders or pockets of which travel in a long heating chamber wherein the disks are reduced to a soft or moldable condition.

The moldable disks are successively discharged from said carrier for delivery at a bottle capping station where the successive moldable disks and the successive bottles to be hood capped, are brought together for the final hood capping operation, all as described hereinafter. The machine embodies a horizontally disposed hollow housing or box 2, 2, having a top wall on which the magazine 1, is mounted and above which it is exposed and accessible. In the particular example illustrated, this housing 2, is approximately cylindrical in form, although the invention is not so limited, and is internally formed and arranged to provide an approximately annular or ring shaped insulating space or chamber 3, the surrounding closed wall of which is formed by the peripheral wall of the housing, and the top and bottom walls of which are formed by the top and bottom walls of the housing, and the inner circular wall of which is formed by vertical partitions within the housing. The said top and bottom walls are formed with normally closed hand-holes 3a, through which access can be had to the insulation packing preferably filling chamber 3.

concentrically within the insulating chamber 3, and spaced from the adjacent walls thereof, is preferably arranged a relatively small annular heating chamber 4, the walls of which are preferably composed, in whole or in part, of material that is a poor conductor of heat. and preferably in the top portion of this inner annular chamber 4, are supported, any suitable system or arrangement of electric resistance wire heating coils or other suitable electrical heating units 5, to maintain the desired binder fusing or hood cap softening temperatures within the chamber 4. Any suitable connections are provided for connecting the heating units into a power circuit, and any suitable electrical instruments are provided for indicating and controlling the temperatures within said heating chamber. The horizontal rotary disk carrier or rotor 6, intersects the housing 2, 2', and the chamber 4, and rotates on a vertical axis alined with the vertical axis of said chamber 4. and the rim portion of said carrier travelling within said chamber is formed with an annular series of similar uniformly spaced hood cap disk pockets or holders 6a, each opening vertically completely through the carrier, the minimum interior diameter of each such opening being but slightly less than the extreme diameter of the hood cap disk. Each disk pocket is adapted to receive one hood cap disk and uphold the same in a horizontal, in this example, upside down position, i. e., with its flaring skirt portion at the upper side thereof and thus exposed to the heat radiation from the heating coils as well as the highly heated air within and hot walls of the chamber (Fig. 7). The rotating carrier, is arranged to constantly carry a large number of the disks simultaneously exposed to the high temperature in the heating chamber and to constantly advance each disk from one end of the chamber to the other. In the example shown, the rotor 6, is composed of a circular horizontal plate or disk, constantly driven by and keyed to a central vertical rotary drive shaft 7, at its upper portion mounted to rotate in and extending upwardly through the top wall of housing 2, and above said wall provided with and driving gear 7a.

T o admit the rim portion of rotor 6, to the interior of the annular heating chamber, the housing 2, and said chamber are, in this example, composed of two non-rotary horizontal sections, namely an upper section 2, and a lower mating section 2, between which the rotor 6, rotates and is snugly arranged.

To permit delivery of the hood cap disks from magazine or supply 1, to the holders 6a, of the rotor 6, a break is provided in the annular housing 2, and top insulating wall of heating chamber 4, to provide anintermediate chamber opening upwardly through the top wall of housing 2, and closed at the bottom by the rim portion of rotor 6 (Figs. 2, 3, and 4), and closed oil from the ends of the annular chambers 3, 4, by radial partitions. The lower end of the fixed inclined magazine 1, extends down through the top opening in housing 2, with the open bottom or discharge mouth of the magazine directly over the path in which the pockets or holders 6a, travel. The stack of nested hood cap disks a, is retained or upheld in the magazine by suitable stop means, such as depending lip 1a, projecting from above into the discharge mouth (Fig. 4). The magazine is provided with a fixed chute 8, arranged below the discharge mouth and embodying a flat floor 8a, arranged closely over the rim portion of carrier 6, having a rear free discharge edge and longitudinally slotted at 8b, for the passage of pusher fingers 6c, fixed to and upstanding from carrier 6, behind the pockets 6a, respectively, to push each cap deposited on floor 8a, forwardly thereon to drop therefrom convexed side down into the pocket 6a to which said particular set of pusher fingers belong (Figs. 4, 5).

The hood cap disks of the stack in the magazine, are successively removed and stripped past the stop finger 1a, in such manner as to tilt and drop flaring skirt up, onto the fioor 8a, for removal by the pushers 60, as before described. Various means can be provided for feeding the disks a, successively to the pockets of the rotating carrier. As an example, we show a vertically swingable or reciprocating upright finger 9, at its free end provided with pricker points 9a, in front of the bottom disk (1, in the magazine, and inclined downwardly toward said disk and arranged to engage and take hold of the top from central vertical rotary shaft 7, through v convexed portion of said disk, on the downward operative stroke of the finger, and depress and strip the upper edge of the disk from the stop 1a, and thus free the disk to tilt forwardly and downwardly from the magazine and drop to horizontal position on floor 8a, guided by the chute.

In the particular example illustrated, the finger 9, depends from and is pivoted to a vertically swingable lever l0, fulcrumed at 10a, to fixed bracket 11, and oscillated vertically by pitman 12, pivotally joined to lever 10, and to a crank pin of crank disk 13, constantly rotated by shaft 14, mounted in bearings on housing 2, and driven by gearing 15,

its top gear 7a.

A spring 16, constantly exerts its tension to swing finger 9, to carry the prickers 9a, into operative engagement with the bottom hood cap disk in the magazine discharge, while the inclination of said prickers permits them to move upwardly-without taking hold of or disturbing said disk.

The finger 9, is normally held, by a suitable detent mechanism, from operative feeding position with relation to the bottom hood cap disk in the magazine 1, so that said finger will swing up and down without feeding a disk, unless the detent mechanism is actuated by a bottle detector, to release the finger 9, to cause delivery of a disk to the heating means for ultimate delivery in a soft condition to the bottle that caused actuation of the detent mechanism through the medium of the bottle detector. For instance, we show a horizontally disposed lever 17, fulcrumed intermediate its length on transverse pivot 17a, carried by lever 10, at its outer end having notch 17 b, to receive tooth 9?), at the upper free end of lever 9, and thereby hold lever 9, against the tension of spring 16, in inoperative position (Fig. 4).

At a suitable point in the path of the bottles b, to be hood capped, on their travel to the hood capping station, a rocking detector arm or finger 18, (Fig. 6) is arranged and spring pressed by spring 19?), to project into the bottle path to be swung to one side by engagement with and the forward travel of a bottle I), and to immediately swing back into said path as the bottle slips by the finger. This detector finger is carried by vertical rock shaft 19, having crank arm 19a, pivotally connected by push and pull link 20, to crank arm 21a, of vertical rock shaft 21, at its upper end having crank arm 21?), above housing 2, pivotally connected by push and pull link 22 to crank arm 23a, of horizontal rock shaft 23, mounted in bracket 11, on top of the housing 2. This rock shaft 23, has depending crank arm 23b, limited in-its upward movement by stop 24, and having its free end above and arranged to abut the inner free end of detent lever 17, to depress the same to free the tooth 96, of disk feeding finger 9, from holding notch 17?), of detent lever 17, (Figs. 4, 6). In other Words, the lever 10, carrying finger 9, and detent lever 17, will oscillate up and down, with respect to depressing arm 236, the finger 9, being held from operative position, as in Fig. 4, so long as no bottle swings the detector finger 18 (Fig. 6) outwardly from the bottle path in which the finger is yieldingly held by spring means, i. e. so lon as no bottle is advanced past the detector finger toward the hood capping station. However, a bottle b, passing the detector finger on its way to the bottle capping station, swings said finger to one side and thereby, through the said rocks shafts, crank and link connections, swings rock shaft 23, to depress arm 23?), and rock detent lever 17 to releasefinger 9, for an operative hood cap disk feeding or discharging stroke. The disk for-said bottle is thereupon discharged to the heating means and started on its way to meet the particular bottle at the hood capping station. When the particular bottle passes, the detector finger 18, slips past the bottle to normal position in the bottle path and the locking or holding relation between finger 9, and detent lever 10, is automatically re-established. The feeding finger 9, is thus released by each advancing bottle, to feed a hood cap disk therefor, and after such feeding stroke returns to inoperative position as in Fig. 4.

As shown by dotted lines Fig. 3a, when the feeder is released by elevation of the weighted free end of detent 17, through action of arm 236, the pricker 9a, on its downward movement, takes hold of the top edge portion of the bottom disk (1, and forces said edge portion down free of the retaining lip 1a, to free the disk. The upper portion of this disk as forced downwardly by the pivoted feeder or finger 9, rides downwardly and outwardly on the flared disk immediately behind the same and correspondingly swings the lower end of the finger outwardly to the full line position Fig. 3a at approximately the limit of downward movement of the feeder. The upper end 971,015 the feeder 9, is thus brought to position to enter the holding notch of detent 17, which is thereupon released by arm 23?), to drop to normal position locking the feeder in inoperative position (Fig. 4).

Inthe example illustrated there happen to be some twenty-four disk pockets 6a, in the rim of the rotary disk or carrier 6, although our invention is not so limited and all of these pockets, except those passing through the intermediate chamber that receives the disk magazine, are travelling in the primary heating chamber 4, with the disks a, carried thereby exposed to and softened by the full temperature thereof. In the particular example shown, the flaring hood cap disks a, are exposed concaved side up in the main heating chamber or oven, to the radiation from the heating elements, and hence said disks seem to more quickly and efiic'lently retain and absorb the heat to fuse or approximately fuse the binder and render the caps, or at least the binder carrying skirt portions thereof, soft and moldable.

At this point, we. also call attention to the desirability of employing paper in the manufacture of the hood cap disks, that will stand without deterioration, the high temperatures to which the caps are oftch subjected in the ovens, and hence we may employ for this purpose specifically prepared paper that Wlll stand temperatures as high as approximately 700 F. although our instant invention is not so limited.

The pockets 6a, are successively loaded with disks, one disk to a pocket, while passing through said intermediate chamber and these disks are subjected to the high temperature of the heating chamber throughout the length thereof, approximately throughout a u com lete circular path, before reaching the disc arge point leading to the hood capping station. At this discharge point or station, located on pocket in advance of the hood cap disk receiving station, see Fig. 4, we provide means for automatically discharging the soft or moldable caps, one at a time, as their pockets successively arrive at said discharge. For instance, in the example shown, we provide, a rotating device for ejecting or punching each soft moldable cap downwardly through its pocket as it passes under said device at said discharge point, so that the released soft ca then drops by gravity from the rotating dis 6, into means for delivering the cap right side up at the hood capping station.

The particular disk discharging punch or ejector embodies a sleeve or hub 26, open at both ends and rotating in a vertical plane on an axis perpendicular to the bore of the hub, an axis that is radially arranged with respect to rotating disk 6. This rotating hub is located above the path in which pockets 6a travel, and carries a heavy double end plun er or ejector consisting of astraight shank 2 of greater length than hub 26, and freely slidable longitudinally therein by gravity and having heavy or weighted end heads 27a. The hub 26, is continuously rotated in timed relation to the continuous rotation of disk 6, and as the hub reaches a vertical position the ejector will drop thcrethrough and its bottom head 27a, will strike the soft disk 11, in the advancing pocket 6a, under the hub, and by reason of the weight of the ejector, will push the disk a, down through the bottom and clear of the disk 6. A fixed track 28, is provided to uphold the ejector until it reaches approximate vertical position centered over the disk a, whereupon the ejector slips past the track and drops onto the depressed center of disk a, with suflicient force to eject the same. The hub 26, continues its rotation with disk 6, and lifts the ejector from the pocket without interference with disk 6, and reverses the ejector so that its opposite end head 27a, will eject the cap a, from the next pocket (see Figs. 2, 3, 4, 10, 11)

In the example shown, the hub 26, and the ejector are arranged in said intermediate chamber under the magazine 1, and the hub is fixed to and transversely of the radial rotary shaft 29, suitably mounted in housin 2, and driven from center vertical shaft 7, y gearing 29a, countershaft 29b, and gearing 290, 7a, (Fig. 10). The moldable disks a, discharged from the pockets 6a, dropinto the open upper end of an upright tubular chute 30, that curves downwardly and inwardly to a lateral dischar e openin onto horizontal disk receiving oor 31. he chute 30, is formed and arranged to cause the disks to turn over as they descend therethrough and deliver the disks onto floor 31, convex side In the drawings, we show the vertical outside wall of the top oven or oven housing 2, formed with an opening (Fi s. 1, 2, 3) through which cap movement, t e discharge chute from the cap supply to rotor 6, and the ejector for discharging hot moldable caps from rotor 6, are accessib e and visible, and this opening is normally closed by swingable door 2g.

Below the housing 2, 2', a horizontal rotor 0r hood capping head carrier, in the form of disk 32, is mounted to rotate on a vertical axis coincident with the longitudinal axis of vertical shaft 7, and at its rim portion, this rotor 32, is equipped with an annular series of similar uniformly spaced hollow heads 33, and cooperating hood cap contractin and clamping devices, in number, prefera 1y, equal to the number of pockets 6a, in hood cap rotor 6, with the heads 33, preferably, vertically alined with pockets 6a, respectively. These heads 33, are rigid with the rotor 32, and are arranged radially beyond the eriphery thereof and consequently the annuqar series of heads constitutes the rim of the disk 32, and such rim, as the disk revolves, moves above the floor 31, onto which the moldable hood caps a, are transversely delivered from depending chute 30. The heads 33, makin up said mm, are spaced upwardly from said floor, and successively move longitudinally of and above said floor, and pusher pins 34, fixed to and depending from the rear portions of heads 33, in the direction of movement thereof, sweep longitudinally of the floor and push the hood caps a, successively therefrom, while located centrally under and vertically alined with the head 33, from which the pins 34, pushing the cap depend, onto a pair of spaced free end parallel tracks 35, extending in longitudinal continuation of floor 31, (Figs. 11-14). The cap supporting tracks 35, are spaced apart a distance sufficient to permit the pushers 34, to travel between them and also to permit the bottle heads to move up between and clearing the tracks, and consequently the diametrically opposite edge portions only of the hood caps a, rest on the top surfaces of the tracks while the caps horizontally span the distances between the tracks with their concave sides down and the caps in hood capping position to centrally receive and operatively seat on the bottle heads that move up into the caps while thus supported and carry them up into the hood capping heads 33, as hereinafter described. Thisis the hood capping station (Fig. 11; where the bottles and moldable hood caps are brought together and entered into the hood capping heads to initiate the hood capping operation. Suitable mechanism is provided to assure the delivcry of a moldable hood cap a, for each head 33, onto the floor 31, into the path and in advance of the pushers 34, of said head, so as to slide along the floor 31, and the tracks 35, with and properly positioned under said head. The hood caps a, successively drop by gravity into and are turned over while falling through the chute 30, but may notslide completely through the chute to proper position on floor 31, hence said suitable mechanism is provided which, in this instance, embodies a rock shaft 36, arranged inwardly beyond the chute 30, and mounted in parts rigid with the walls thereof and having fixed thereto, outwardly extending radial arms 37, beyond the opposite side walls of the chute 30, and at their outer ends carrying a horizontal cross shaft 38, beyond the outer wall of the chute. A sleeve 39, is rotatively mounted on shaft 38, and provided with a radial depending hood cap pusher finger 40, projecting through longitudinal slot 30a, into the path of the hood caps in chute 30, to push the same one at a time to operative position onto floor 31 (Figs. 10, 11, 17). While we do not wish to so limit our invention, the pusher 40, can be more or less retracted from the interior of the chute when said pusher is approximately at its limit of upward movement. For instance, in the example shown, the exterior surface of the chute curves downwardly with varying radii, and the double crank arm 41, is rigid with sleeve 39, that rocks on shaft 38, and the arms of said crank 41, ride vertically on said variously curved outer wall of the chute and extend upwardly and downwardly, respectively, from said sleeve, and hence said arms in following the chute curvature upwardly rock sleeve 39 to retract the pusher 40, and in following the chute wall downwardly, rock sleeve 39 to pro ect the pusher 40 into the chute to advance the hood cap disks, as hereinbefore described. Sleeve 39, is loose on shaft 38, and is yieldingliy pressed longitudinally to frictionally hol one end thereof against the adjacent end of the hub of one arm 37, by coiled expansion spring 42, on shaft 38, and compressed between the hub of the other arm 37, and the adjacent end of sleeve 39. The rock shaft 36, Is provided with a radial arm 42a, fixed posed at the tops of the hood capping heads 33 The arm 42a, is yieldingly depressed by its spring 43, and is located in the path traveled by the cam tracks 44, of the heads 33, and is successively engaged and elevated by each head as it approaches the hood cap receiving station over floor 31, to operate pusher 40, to properly locate a hood cap for operative pushing engagement by pins 34, of said head, and thereupon the cam track of the head permits the arm 42a, to drop to normal position and the pusher to return to its normal elevated position (Fig. 10).

In the example shown, each capping head 33, embodies a cup-like or hollow housing, in reversed "pos tion, fixed to and arranged radially beyond periphery of the rotary carrier 32. This housing is open at the bottom to provide a bottom mouth of a diameter to more or less snugl receive the bottle head with the hood cap t ereon. The housing provides a downwardly flaring mouth formed by fixed mouth ring 33a, having an upwardly contracting beveled or downwardly flaring bottom surface (Figs. 13, 14), so formed and arranged as to contract the hot moldable downwardly flaring skirt of the hood cap disk a, resting centrally on the bottle head, as picked up b said head from tracks 35, (Flg. 13) on t e upward movement of the bottle head between said tracks, as the bottle head with the flaring skirt disk moves up through said mouth ring into the head. The skirt of the hood cap disk is thereby forced down and contracted to approximately vertical cylindrical form around the bottle head, and in this form is carried into and approximately half way through suitable skirt annular compressing and holding or clamping means then in completely opened or expanded condition.

As the bottle head with the hood cap disk thereon, rises in the capping head, the center of the disk meets the flat bottom face of an ejecting plunger 46, thenin its lowermost position, movable vertically in the capping head, and the disk center is hence clamped between the mouth rim of the bottle and the arm 42a, and said arm plunger, as the bottle head rises in the capping head lifting the plunger to its limit of upward movement (Fig. 14).

The plunger 46, slidable vertically in the capping head, embodies an upstanding shank 46a, slidably extending through the top wall of the capping head, and at its upper end usually equipped with an anti-friction roller, to travel along the bottom surface of a fixed overhanging plunger depressing track 47, beginning in the direction of travel of the capping heads 33, at the hood capped bottle discharging station (Fig. 1) and ending approximately at the hood capping station where each bottle meets its moldable hood cap disk (Fig. 11). In other words, as each bottle head is on its upward movement carryin the hood cap disk upward into the capp ng head 33, corresponding to such bottle, the roll on the shank of the ejecting plunger of said cappinghead, passes free from the straight depressed portion of track 47, and the plunger is free to move up its full stroke with the bottle head in the capping head (Figs. 11, 13, 14). Each ejecting plunger 46, is usually provided with an upstanding guide pin 46b, slidable through the top wall of head 33, to prevent rotary movement of the plunger on its shank as an axis.

Each hood capping head includes hood cap skirt contracting and compressing or clamping mechanism associated and cooperating with its head, to completely encircle the depending approximately cylindrical skirt on the bottle head, while still moldable. and radially and annularly contract said skirt under the annular rim enlargement of the bottle head, completely around the circle of the skirt to tightly compress and close together and against the bottle neck each and every longitudinal fold or crease in the skirt by which the surplus skirt material is taken up, and thus hold the same for a substantial length of time until set to stiff cool hood cap securing condition. y

In the particular example shown, each clamping mechanism is radially or annularly expansible and contractile. and embodies a flexible looped garrotting band or wire 49, and cooperating concaved or segmental compressing jaw 50, to complete the circle or annulus of the garroting clamp or compressor.

The flexible spring band or wire 49. is in the form of a horizontal loop adapted to the internal groove or seat 330. within the capping head 33, above the mouth ring 330. and encircling the interior of the head except for a radial opening through the vertical side wall of the housing toward the center of rotary carrier disk 32. The opposite spaced ends of garroting loop 49, extend outwardly through said radial opening and are secured to short vertical shafts 51, respectively, ro-

tatably mounted in the free ends of oppositely and transversely-arranged horizontally swingable toggle levers 52, respectively, arranged exteriorly'of head 33, and mounted on vertical studs 53, respectively, located midway the lengths of the levers and carried by member 54, supporting head 33, and fixed to and projecting radially from disk 32.

The two levers 52. are simultaneously swung to carry their adjoining free ends outwardly toward the head 33, to expand or open the loop 49, and to simultaneously carry their said ends in the opposite direction, i. e. in a direction away from head 33, to contract the loop 49, by horizontal links or levers 55, at their outer ends pivotally joined to the ends of levers 52, respectively, opposite the short shafts 51, to which the loop ends are secured. The adjacent inner ends of the two levers 55, are pivotally joined by vertical studs or pivots 56. to the inner end portion of a horizontal elongated slide 57, arranged radially of: head 33, and extending therefrom radially along rotor disk 32, and confined to reciprocation radially of said head and disk in a suitable slideway provided by head supporting frame 54, which is secured to disk 32, in a suitable socket 32d,.therefor provided in said disk (Figs. 15, 17, 17A).

The outer end of slide 57, is blade-like or relatively thin vertically and is concaved or segmental in formation to form the hood cap skirt clamping or compressing jaw 50, that in curvature approximately conforms to the radius of the bottle neck against which the cap skirt is to be compressed,

Outward sliding movement of slide 57, carries the concaved jaw 50, radially into the head 33, and through the medium of links 55, swings the levers 52, to carry the loop attached inner ends 51, of said levers inwardly in a direction away from head 33, to carry the ends of loop 49 toward each other and to pull the loop as a whole inwardly of the head 33 toward the center of disk 32, while the slide and jaw 50, move in the opposite direction, thereby contracting the garroting ring clamp as an entirety to operative compressing holding position (Figs. 14, 15, 16). Sliding movement of slide 57, in the opposite direction, i. e. toward the center of disk 32, moves the parts of the garroting ring clamp 49, 50, to expanded or opened position (Figs 12, .13) with loop 49, expanded into groove 330, and the jaw 50, withdrawn from the interior of head 33, so that the bottle head is free to carry the hood cap thereon up through said expanded ring clamp to the position shown by Fig. 14, with the expanded ring surrounding the lower securing portion i of the hot moldable skirt of the hood cap on the bottle head.

In the example shown, the ring clamp 49, 50, is spring pres ed to normally remain in contracted clamping position and is under constant spring tension to return to such contracted clamping position, and for this urpose expansion spring 58, is compresse between'adjustable spring abutment 58a, carried by disk 32,,and the opposing spring abutment 58b, formed by a lug rigid with and depending from slide 57. As thus arranged the spring 58, is constantly under tension to force slide 57, outwardly and yieldingly maintain the ring clamp in contracted position.

To move the slide 57, inwardly toward the center of disk 32, to expand the ring clamp to receive bottle heads having moldable caps and to release completely hood capped bottles that have been carried with their hood caps compressed throughout almost the full circular path and have cooled and set, the inner end of the slide 57, is provided with an upstanding stud on which is mounted anti-friction roll 59, to cooperate with a fixed segmental section of track 60, secured to and carried by the frame, in this instance, by the bottom wall of the lower section of housing 2, (Figs. 10, 17). This track, in the direction of rotation of disk 32, begins at a suitable point in advance of the hood capped bottle discharge station and continues ,to and past that station to and slightly beyond the hood capping station, and the track is so arranged that the roll 59, will engage and ride on the front end of the track and will thereby be pressed back to expand the ring clamp for release of the hood capped bottle from the clamp for downward withdrawal from head 33, at the bottle discharge station, and will thus holdthe roll back as it travels along the track to keep the clamp expanded until after the fresh bottle received by head 33, with a hood cap diskloosely thereon, has approximately reached its limit of upward movement in the head with the skirt of the disk pressed down to vertical cylindrical form and pushed up through the expanded ring clamp until the clamp surrounds the bottom or securing portion of the skirt, say the left hand bottle Fig. 11. Thereupon'the roll 59, starts to run off the inclined rear end of track 60, and permits the roll to move outwardly under the power of spring 58, to completely contract the ring yieldingly under the power of the spring, and thereby uniformly gather and contract the still hot moldable skirt completely around the full circle thereof and tightly press the same against the rounding cam-like downwardly contratin shoulder of the bottle at the under side 0 the bottle head rim enlargement. This results in a downward pull on the cap skirt to tighten the top thereof on and across the top rim of the bottle mouth, as well as a contracting tightening of the skirt under and to conform to the contraction of the bottleunder its annular rim shoulder. The binder in the longitudinally creased or folded cap skirt is fused or softened by heat when applied to the bottle head and the purpose of the peculiar narrow ring clamp is to gather and lay the folds resulting from these creases and the contraction of the skirt, all in the same direction and uniformly around the circle of the skirt and While still soft to tightly flatten the folds and press their opposite walls together at least along a narrow annular line around the circle of the skirt, and to thus hold the skirt until the bottle has travelled with disk 32, almost throughout the full circle of the bottle path, or until the skirt has cooled and thoroughly set to the desired hard or stifi' securing condition. We find that secured hood caps of this binder carrying type have greatly enhanced holding power against the tendency to expand and loosen when subject to excessive moisture, where all of the skirt folds completely around the circle of the skirt are thus held tightly compressed annularly and radially and held in such condition over an extended path until thoroughly set.

The garroting loop 49, while of spring material, is sufficiently flexible to conform to variations in shape and radius, and to draw and contract around the skirt and compress the same under the heavy force of spring 58, while the jaw 50, is forced outwardly against the skirt to span the gap between the loop ends where tangential to the circle of the skirt, all with a yielding spring pressure.

The foregoing describes in detail, one capping head 33, and its associated ring clamp, and these heads and their clamps are duplicated in an endless series around the rim of the rotor 32, so that in the particular example shown twenty-four such heads are employed, which number can be increased or decreased. Also, in this particular example, the track 60, is so arranged, that as rotor 32, constantly revolves, there will always be approximately six capping heads 33, wherein the ring clamps will be temporarily held in expanded position while the clamps of the remaining heads will be in contracted positions holding tightly compressed the skirts of the hood caps in securing position on the bottle heads.

In this example where a constantly moving or advancing rotor provides an annular series of twenty-four capping heads, we provide a correspondingly constantly advancing rotor for a similar number of corresponding bottle carriers or bottle supporting stools 61. We provide an annular series of similar bottle stools 61, arranged in a circle of the same radius as the circle of capping heads 33, with the circle of stools rotating in a horizontal plane below the horizontal plane of the circle of said heads, the axes of rotation of the circles of heads and stools being alined, the stools being vertically alined with said heads, respectively. p 

